Solar radiation is the most abundant energy source on earth. However, attempts to harness solar power at large scales have so far failed to be economically competitive with most fossil-fuel energy sources. One possible reason for this failure is that the solar flux is not intense enough for direct conversion at one solar flux to be cost effective.
Solar concentrator technology seeks to address this issue. Solar radiation is one of the most easy energy forms to manipulate and concentrate. It can be refracted, diffracted, or reflected to many thousands of times the initial flux, using only modest materials.
With so many possible approaches, a multitude of solar concentrator approaches have been proposed. So far, however, such conventional solar concentrator systems cost too much to compete unsubsidized with all fossil fuels.
One reason for this are costs related to the solar energy receiver. While the energy-conversion material of a receiver may be expensive, particularly in the case of multiple-junction and other high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, the mounting, service connections, and module assembly costs may contribute significantly to the overall receiver system cost.
Moreover, receivers for solar concentrators typically require cooling for efficient operation. Inefficient cooling can place an inordinate parasitic load on the system and ineffective cooling can reduce energy conversion efficiency, reducing output and revenue. In addition, the structure to mount and service solar receivers is conventionally material intensive.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved designs, assembly techniques, and cooling modalities for receiver assemblies for solar concentrators, which exhibit greater simplicity and less intensive consumption of materials, lower cost, better scalability, and better operating efficiency and effectiveness.